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Health & HIV/AIDS
Africa: AU Summit urged to uphold health committments
2010-07-23, Issue 491
http://pambazuka.org/en/category/hivaids/66193
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117 African Health, Social Development, Gender Based, Human Rights Organisations, and Trade Unions have written to the July 2010 15th African Union Summit of Heads of State holding in Uganda - urging governments to uphold, improve and urgently implement African and global health and social development financing commitments.
117 African Health, Social Development, Gender Based, Human Rights Organisations, and Trade Unions have written to the July 2010 15th African Union Summit of Heads of State holding in Uganda - urging governments to uphold, improve and urgently implement African and global health and social development financing commitments.
In a letter to be submitted this week to Ambassadors of African governments to the AU, African Ministers, and Heads of States, the organisations have expressed grave concern at recent well reported statements by senior officials of some African governments that “governments have other competing priorities besides health”, with some reportedly going as far as stating that Presidents should be advised to drop the Abuja Commitments to allocate 15% of national budgets to health, and also requesting that references to the it be deleted from conference documents and outcomes.
Just 15% of Budgets to Health No Longer Sufficient to Overcome Africa’s Health Challenges: Improved Per Capita Investment in Health, and Improved Investment in Social Determinants Also Crucial.
Importantly, the organisations while outlining details of over 6 million African deaths annually from just 5 preventable, treatable or manageable MDG health issues – Maternal and Child Mortality, HIV, TB, Malaria - and millions more suffering and dying from other causes – have also underlined that just allocation of 15% of budgets to health will not be adequate to overcome Africa’s health challenges.
Alongside poor percentage allocation of budgets to health, the organisations have highlighted that - "at present, 34 African countries are investing less than the World Health Organisation recommended minimum package of $40-$45 per capita in health. These include 27 African countries investing less than $20, and 15 countries investing as little as $2 - $10 Per capita on health which is insufficient to meet a combination of diverse health challenges."
African governments at a regional average of $34 per capita currently invest significantly less than other regions with best health indicators such as Europe, the Americas and Pacific, which invest regionally an average $1,374 - $1,546 per capita in health. Some individual countries in these region’s invest as much as between $3,000 and $6,000 per capita in health.
In addition the organisations are calling for separate but integrated improved investment in social determinants such as clean water, sanitation, sustainable use of environment and nutrition. Proactively and preventively dealing with health problems caused by unsafe water, poor nutrition and poor environmental policies, will free limited health budgets to deal with more serious and complex issues.
The organisations are therefore calling on African governments to improve from the 2001 Abuja commitment of only allocation of 15% of budgets to health; to implement a more comprehensive health, population and social development formula described as 15 % Plus - which includes improved per capita investment; improved investment in social determinants such as clean water and nutrition; as well as better percentage allocation of budgets to health.
Coordinator of the Africa Public Health Alliance and 15%+ Campaign Rotimi Sankore stated:
“The primary objective of governments should be to ensure the well being of all citizens. $2, $4 or $6 per capita is barley enough to buy a bottle of Aspirins, talk less of providing of Reproductive, Maternal or Child Health, or treatment and prevention of HIV, TB and Malaria. At present some countries with huge health burdens can meet the Abuja 15% target while still investing less than $10 per capita in health. "
"Percentages alone can be misleading. African governments therefore need to improve on the 2001 commitments by also improving Per Capita Investment to at least the WHO recommended minimum package of $40 per capita.”
“There is also no point giving people medicines, to swallow with unclean water. Neither can medicines cure malnutrition, which is a leading cause of mortality especially amongst infants. These social determinants which cannot be included in health budgets, but which have a huge impact on health are therefore of great importance. A situation whereby as low as only 35% to 60% of citizens in some countries have access to clean water is unacceptable.”
“As well as being a fundamental human right, investment in health and social development will boost healthy life expectancy beyond the low African average of a mere 45 years, increase productivity and in turn boost economic growth.”
The letter to the AU Summit underlines examples of middle income countries such as Costa Rica and Cuba, where the achievement of Millennium Development Goals has been based on a combination of this formula of improved per capita investment in health; improved investment in ensuring almost 100% coverage of clean water, sanitation, nutrition and sustainable use of environment; aggressive public health preventive measures including almost vaccination 100% coverage; and training and retaining needed numbers of health workers.